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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: prune · face · field · cell · present · stock · pitch · current

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. face — to confront
  3. prune — to trim
  4. face — to point toward
  5. pitch — completely
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. present — there
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. cell — in biology
  10. stock — shares
  11. prune — to trim
  12. field — farmland
  13. present — a gift
  14. present — the time now
  15. cell — a phone
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. current — electric
  18. current — happening now
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — a subject
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. current — of water
  23. stock — goods
  24. stock — a soup base

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com